Cruising French Polynesia
 

Can anyone recommend a quality relaxing but not too formal cruise around the islands, particularly Bora Bora and Morea. We are starting out from the UK so departure point not too important. Budget wise middle of the road.
Many thanks.

A few years back we took a great cruise on Princess (I believe Tahitian) that fits all your requirenments. Princess still does these cruises.
I would suggest searching on
http://www.vacationstogo.com/
and put in Tahiti for the "Region" (you can leave all other categories as "Any") . It will show all cruise lines that visit that area. Some are more luxury, such as Regent & Silversea.
You can also do that cruise from Sydney on P & O (Australia)
http://www.pocruises.com.au/html/
I hope this helps

Starclipper- goes to Bora Bora and that area. Cool large sail boat with a max of 170 people. Layed back, etc. Google Starclipper.

Actually we cruised on the Tahitian Princess for a 10 day French Polynesian cruse in 2006. Unfortunately Princess is pulling out of that route soon, in the fall of this yr. I think so for that price point try to book now. It'll be gone all too soon. Then all that is left is Regent and the Clipper ships and it will be much more expensive.

Actually Pacific Princess has five 10 day cruises out of Papeete from end of October into December 2009 . The Tahitian Princess is doing the same in the fall of 2008.
You can find them on the Princess web site:
http://www.princess.com/index.html

Thats really good news. The Pacific is a sister ship to the Tahitian. The word out a while back was that Princess was pulling out of the FP market secondary to difficulty getting supplies there and immigration issues for her crew. Apparently all has been resolved. This is great for those who are looking for a medium budget cruise for what are IMHO the most beautiful islands on earth. Cheers, Larry :-)

Thanks for your help. I have been reading a bit about Paul Gauguin cruises. Are they as good as they seem?

PG is a Regent ship and AFAIK they are up to the hype and maybe more. From what I have read you pay much more but get your moneys worth.

Ooops! One aside. When we cruised FP on the smallish Tahitian Princess (594 ft. long, 32k tons) the seas were choppy on occasion and you do feel it. The PG is shorter and displaces 18k tons. In fact we passed it when it was moored in one of the ports, Moorea I think. As the channel there is narrow and due to choppy seas that day the PG could not get out. Just an FYI.

If the PG is within your budget, I don't think there is any comparison with the Tahitian Princess. The food and service are outstanding on the PG. We've been on it 24 nights and know others who have become PG addicts. Also, the whole cruise is country club casual dress. And, of course, though it is more expensive, it is also all inclusive (tips, drinks, including mixed and wine, etc.) The only thing you pay for is excursions, which also tend to be excellent. While the cabins aren't as luxurious as the other Regent ships, they are very nice. You don't really need the cabin space in French Polynesia. We did opt for a balcony, though. Regent also has some reasonable pre- and post-cruise land packages, though we don't think anything compares to the ship itself.

Try cruisecritic for info and reviews on both. I checked recently and was surprised to see some poor reviews for the PG along wiht the usual good ones. Hmmmm.

Regent's Paul Gauguin is the best way to do the islands for sure. Their price may be a bit more than the larger ships but smaller is really better. When you sail with Regent you do not pay for your drinks. At dinner they pour a white and red that they matched to the meal that evening. If you want to order a specific bottle of wine from their list you will pay for that. The beauty of the islands is hard to describe and blue doesn't even do justice to the color of the water. If you have time you should try to spend a few extra days on one of the islands as well. Enjoy

Actually Regent is quite a bit more. Our 10 day cruise on the TP was half what a 7 day cruise was on the PG. This was two yrs. ago but I don't imagine that much has changed.

My Wife and I went on the 10 night FP cruise on the TP in 02/06 and loved it. We had a Balcony and had our breakfast on it every morning. That time of the year is the Summer down there and it is also the rainy season but we did not have much rain at all. The seas were not bad and did not have a problem with them. The small ship was great and the crew including our wait staff at our great dinners was outstanding. Our two wait staff were from Romania and were (one young man and one young woman)very gracious as well as very atenative to all our needs. I'm sorry to rattle on but it was a great cruise.I would go on a cruise on the same ship again and maybe evan in that area.

Definitely go with the Paul Gauguin. They do have specials that include air etc. so maybe you can luck into one of those. It's worth the extra $$ to go on Regent since so much is included (including water activities and Motu, besides alcohol and tips)

When my wife and I went on the TP cruise we did it because of the people that were on the ship. The head Chef at that time was just outstanding and I had heard about him from a friend. Also we don't really drink that much and you pay for the drinks one way or another. We live in the Wine country of Sonoma county of California and are spoiled with great wine and I personally will not pay anybody's prices for wines that I can get for one third the price here at home. I'm not cheap, just smart about how I spend my money. I have cooked (one of many things I did for a living) for years for family and friends and know good food and the TP had very good food when we were on our cruise. I don't doubt PG has just as good food and you get your booze but if you don't drink and evan don't drink soda waters you are paying for someone else to have a good time. I think one has to think about all the things that they do and then go with the one that has most of the positives for them. I also have heard that the TP is changing it's name to something else soon?? Well any way have a good time.

Thanks for the responses. We are thinking of going for Paul Gauguin early October 2009, is this a good time to go. We would prefer a balcony stateroom. Which deck should we go for and does anyone have any other tips.

Many thanks.

We were in Cabin 723 and loved it. The PG is the way to go in F. P. islands.

If you want a balcony, then you will be on deck 7 unless you want to pay extra for the slightly larger cabins on deck 8. We've been in 719 twice,and it was great. On the regular 7-day itinerary the starboard side is preferred preferred, because sometimes dolphins swim along side during one of the island hops.

Any advice on the 10 day Paul Gaugin Society Is. & Tuamotus about which shore excursions not to miss?
I am trying to determine how much $$$ the shore excursions will add to the cost of such a cruise. The Regent website for excursion booking is not available so I've no idea about costs. Some reviewers on Cruisecritic.com have indicated they booked their own excursions and didn't use the PG for that.
Any help would be appreciated as we try to plan our expenses.
The airfare & 2 nights hotel(Radisson Plaza) upon arrival & 1 night before departure from Papeete are all included in a deal for 2 for around $8,000 for May '09 (Cabin Cat. E).
However, we want to have enough $$$ to see the islands & not just remain on the ship!!!!
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide,
Carol